Essay on Crossing the Line

945 Words4 Pages

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, preoccupied drivers are responsible for nearly 80% of all crashes in the United States (Teen). The majority of driver distractions can be blamed on cell phones. Despite laws banning the act of cellular use while behind the wheel and commercials advising against it, young drivers addicted to sending text messages are often unfazed by these attempts and continue to put lives at risk. In response to this rising trend, the Gwent Police Department in Wales met with filmmaker Peter Watkins-Hughes in 2009 to produce a shocking short film, COW (Gwent). With other advertisements taking a less-realistic approach and making little impact, COW was a way for the Gwent Police to take a…show more content…

However the shock of the crash and the ability to relate to that age group deeply connects with teenage drivers pathologically. Likewise, other drivers may feel unsafe after seeing the commercial and fully comprehending the effects of one brief distraction. While it can be argued that the public service announcement went too far into a situation of accurate consequences, it is difficult to convey an important life-or-death message. Ultimately, the clear message and shock value is successful in dissuading drivers from texting while at the wheel.

In the short film, Watkins-Hughes cleverly combines both graphic and subtle details to impose a certain reaction. From the start, viewers observe four teenage girls having a laugh as they drive down a road. This scene automatically identifies with teenagers. The driver types “James my mate fancies u” into her cell phone, and all the girls are engrossed in the message. None of them pay attention to the road ahead. It is irrational for the driver to send the message when one of the other girls would be more appropriate, and it is unrealistic for none of them to be glancing at the street. The girls have mere seconds to scream as they recognize their fate and the car collides with an oncoming vehicle. The airbags explode, and the girls are jerked in various directions as glass breaks around them and blood is spilled. Once the

####not well written####Introduction
Police brutality is the use of any force exceeding that reasonably necessary to accomplish a lawful police purpose. (Gregory Umbach) There is a very thin line as to what is acceptable and excessive use of force for police officers. Many police departments try their best to outline what is appropriate use of force to weed out these unacceptable practices. However, some evidence and scenarios point to race being a possible factor in police brutality. There exist…

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The speaker’s diction is not…